Men in My Town [Paperback]

Keith Smith (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 16, 2009

It is indeed rare when the young victim of a brutal crime grows up to reveal his story in a way that is both compelling and objective. Such is the case with Keith Smith in the gripping and deeply disconcerting bio-novel, Men in My Town. Based on his experience of having been abducted, beaten, and raped by a local pedophile, Smith reminds us how quickly the innocence of youth can be snatched away. But there are two stories here, one of despair, the other of revenge. While the boy in this novel shares the terror of the attack and the fear that grips his life thereafter, the reader is also pulled into the fictionalized account of his attacker's murder, orchestrated by a few local men who take it upon themselves to seek retribution and give Smith, and other boys of Lincoln, Rhode Island, peace of mind. Who murdered him and how is the stuff of fiction. That the case was never solved is truth. A compelling and chilling story about violence, survival, and retribution.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Smith has written a gripping, fast paced crime story inspired by actual events. It's a "someone got away with murder" novel you can't put down; a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading Men in My Town.

--Rebecca Papa

An insightful, well-paced story with colorful Runyonesque characters. His depiction of flawed yet highly moral characters, the purity of his prose, and the insight of his experiences could be the basis for many more engrossing tales. --Dow Stewart

ReviewYourBook.com awards Men in My Town their 5 Star Rating, stating, "Incredible. Put this on your reading list !" --Debra Gaynor

WARNING! Do not pick up a copy of Keith Smith's Men in My Town unless you want to be riveted to your seat. --Debbra Walker

From the Author

A conversation with Keith Smith, author of Men in My Town

Q: Keith, I understand you've recently finished writing a book. Tell us about it.

A: The book is titled, Men in My Town. It's a suspense novel based on the true story of the abduction, beating and sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy in Lincoln, Rhode Island in 1974 and the brutal unsolved murder of his attacker in Providence in 1975.

Q: What can you tell us without spoiling the plot for those who haven't yet read the book?

A: The story focuses on the young boy's relationship with a few men in his town, men who are close to the boy and his family, men who watch over him, men that protect him after he's been assaulted. They're good men with the capacity to do bad things. It's a story that causes the reader to revisit their position on the question, "Does the end ever justify the means?" and vividly juxtaposes the good and evil that can exist simultaneously in every man.

Q: Why did you write Men in My Town?

A: There are a number of reasons. First, it's a good story worth telling. It's a gripping suspense novel with a storyline that includes characters based on real people, real places and real events. It's a glimpse into the street hustle hiding in the peaceful suburbs of Providence, Rhode Island in the 1970's, complete with gamblers, bookies, car thieves, petty criminals, organized crime, hard-working honest men and a murderer or two.  Secondly, Men In My Town is my personal story. I am the 14-year-old boy in the story and only a few people, very few people, know what really happened to me on that cold winter night in 1974. I wrote Men in My Town to stop keeping this secret from the people closest to me, people I care about, people I love, my long-time friends and my family.  And finally, I wrote the story to raise awareness of male sexual assault, to let other victims know that they're not alone and to help victims of rape and violent crime understand that the emotion, fear and memories that may still haunt them are not uncommon to those of us who have shared a similar experience.

Q: Why did you wait 35 years to tell this story?

A: I've been silent because of shame and guilt. I was ashamed that a man sexually assaulted me. My guilt was based on wanting to protect my protectors, to eliminate the possibility that someday, someone would get arrested and perhaps go to jail for killing the guy for what he did to me. I've been fighting these thoughts, these feelings, these emotions, for decades and I'm finally able to properly deal with these things. I now realize that I shouldn't feel ashamed or guilty because I'm not responsible for what my attacker did to me... and I'm not responsible for what others may have done to him.

Q: What makes Men in My Town unique?

A: It's unique because it's the only fact-based suspense novel that I'm aware of that deals with the subject of male sexual assault and the unsolved murder of the pedophile rapist. It's unique because there aren't many novels set in Rhode Island and this is the first novel ever set in the Town of Lincoln. Men in My Town is unique in that it helps people understand that violent crimes against children can occur anywhere, even in bucolic, beautiful, sleepy little suburban towns like Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Q: Are there other works, either books or movies, that you think are similar to Men in My Town?

A: Dennis Lehane's Mystic River comes to mind. Mystic River opens with the abduction and sexual assault of a young boy from a tight knit, working class suburb of Boston. It deals with pedophilia, murder, secrets, average guys, cops and criminals. Michael Corrente's movie Federal Hill, set in Providence, deals with relationships between close friends, organized crime and what I refer to as 'street hustle.' If you're familiar with either Mystic River or Federal Hill, you may see similar themes in Men in My Town.

Q: How long did it take you to write this book?

A: The story has been with me since 1974 so I can actually say it took me 35 years to write this book. The actual writing, putting pen to paper, hammering out the story, revising drafts, took about 6 months; working with editors, literary agents and publishers took the project out to a full year.

Q: How did you write Men in My Town? What was your process?

A: I wrote this story inside out. I didn't start by writing chapter one, page one. Instead, I listed the events that I wanted to write about, the places I wanted readers to visit, the characters I wanted readers to meet and the emotion I wanted readers to feel. I wrote sections one at a time capturing the events, places, characters and emotion, then pieced them together in a sequence that made the story whole, like a quilt.

Q: I understand you left Rhode Island in 1982. What do you miss about Rhode Island?

A: I grew up in the 60′s and 70's in the Fairlawn section in the south end of Lincoln, 4 miles north of Providence. Everyone on my block knew my brothers, my sisters, my mom, my dad and me. People went to baseball games at the Cecile Street field in the fall, skated on Spec's Pond in the winter and lined up on Smithfield Avenue to watch the Memorial Day parade in the spring. There was a wonderful sense of community, security, peace. People sat on their porches and knew their neighbors. Neighbors watched out for one another, took care of each other. I miss that. I also miss coffee milk, clear chowda, clam cakes, great Italian food on Federal Hill and the beaches from Narragansett to Watch Hill.

Q: Keith, how do we get a copy of Men in My Town?

A: Men in My Town is available now on Amazon.com in paperback and on Kindle. If you're interested in receiving a signed copy, email me at [e-mail] for details. 

--A Conversation with Keith Smith, Author of Men in My Town

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing; 1st edition (March 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439226253
• ISBN-13: 978-1439226254
• Product Dimensions: 0.2 x 7.9 x 5.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,362,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Keith Smith, the author of Men in My Town, is a Survivor of a Stranger Abduction Sexual Assault and a Keynote Speaker on the topic of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

In 1974, at the age of 14, Keith was abducted, beaten and raped in his hometown of Lincoln, Rhode Island by a recidivist, pedophile, predator. His assailant was arrested and indicted but never went to trial. His trial never took place because he was brutally beaten to death in the streets of Providence, Rhode Island before his court date. Thirty-seven years after his murder, no one has ever been charged with the crime.

Less than 1% of childhood sexual assaults involve abduction by a stranger. If the abduction last over 3 hours, there's a 50% chance the child will be murdered. Keith was abducted by a stranger and he's alive to talk about it. Abducted, beaten and raped at the age of 14, he's using his experience to educate adults on steps we can take to keep kids safe.

He is a member of the RAINN Speakers Bureau (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network) and speaks frequently with the Press and Broadcast Media, Non-Profit Organizations and Government Agencies.

The story of Keith's assault and his transition from sexual assault victim to survivor has been featured in newspapers and magazines and his program, "5 Steps You Can Take to Keep Kids Safe" has been discussed on radio and television. Smith developed "5 Steps" to help reduce the risk to children by educating adults on five key things;

1. Know the Facts about Childhood Sexual Abuse
2. Know the Signs
3. Know What to Do
4. Know Where to Go
5. Know What to Say

Keith has lobbied government officials to prevent cutbacks to programs serving child victims of sex crimes and he's testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee seeking tougher laws to protect children.

Keith' story has been covered by the New York Times. He participated in Oprah Winfrey's award-winning show, 200 Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, was featured on Perspective : New Jersey with ABC Investigative Reporter Nora Muchanic and appeared on Anderson Cooper's Special, State of Shame: The Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal.

Smith has fifteen years of service as a member of the Board of Directors of a non-profit, social service agency providing crisis intervention counseling to child victims of sexual assault, including six years as President of the Board of Trustees. 


More information is available at www.MenInMyTown.wordpress.com



Keith's Men in My Town LinkedIn Profile can be viewed at www.LinkedIn.com/in/MenInMyTown

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast Paced and Gripping January 18, 2011

By Debbra Walker

Format:Paperback

WARNING! Do not pick up a copy of Keith Smith's Men in My Town unless you want to be riveted to your seat. The novel is drawn from his own childhood experience of being kidnapped and assaulted by a stranger. From the first line until the dramatic end, Men in My Town will keep you engrossed in his story of violence, retribution and survival.
In Men in My Town, Smith dares to take on the unspeakable; male on male sexual assault. Take it on he does. Smith is fearless in his portrayal of the rape, fear and aftermath of the crime. As the main character, struggles to get home, the hair stood up on my arms. It was so real, so heart wrenching, Smith pulled me in completely. The crisp writing style is not "preachy", self pitying or moralistic. Neither saints nor villains; the characters are drawn cleanly, realistically. Just ordinary men in Rhode Island, taking care of one of their own in the only way that seemed just at the time.
I recommend Men in My Town as a fast paced and inspiring novel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Something no child should go through July 20, 2012

By S. Warfield TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Keith Smith's "Men in My Town" is a novel based on a true event that happened to Smith when he was 14-years-old and living in Rhode Island. The boy hitch-hiked his way home one day in the winter of 1974 and the man who picked him up, a normal-looking guy driving a purple AMC Gremlin, never stopped to let the boy out where he was supposed to, but drove on to an isolated spot and beat and sexually assaulted him. Keith's desperate race to get home and his fear and hiding at the sound of every car he heard makes for a thrilling page-turner that doesn't slow down. Keith knew that the more details he could remember, the better the chances the police would have for finding this man, so he used his keen power of observation to take in as much as he could about the man and his car.

There are a lot of male characters in this 106-page book, all members of Keith Smith's community and all men in his town. They hold various jobs and positions in the community, but they all have one thing in common. They all want to see Keith's abductor caught and punished and they all have Keith's back. They watch out for him so that he feels safe, but Keith is still afraid that he's going to be out and about one day and he'll see that purple Gremlin again. I couldn't help but think that someone who committed such a crime would have been driving a less conspicuous-color car to try to blend in.

This is a well-written and suspenseful story of something that no child should ever have to go through. It is understandable why the author, to this day, still has nightmarish memories of that time that haven't gone away. I hope that writing about it helped.

Highly recommended.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting April 22, 2009

By Paul Belmonte

Format:Paperback

Men In My Town is a powerful story of a young boy's trauma of being sexually abused and the scars that have remained with him to this day. It combines a vivid sense of memory, unique observational skills about life in Rhode Island in the 1970's and an all consuming urge to survive in the midst of great fear. Keith's story is a painful representation of what it is like to be sexually abused and how the forces of revenge expressed in violence can emerge from a shaken community.It takes a great deal of strength and courage for anyone to publicly share what is like to be sexually abused at a young age. Keith exhibits both qualities in a literary manner that draws you in immediately at the start of his book. Once you're reading the book you won't be able to put it down until you are at the last page. It feels like you have left this world and have been placed right next to Keith as he describes an almost unspeakable journey filled with horror,emotional trauma and violence. What emerges in the end is what President Kennedy once wrote about. Profiles in Courage. Keith's story is a profile of courage. It is not too often that you get to encounter such bravery in a book. This is your opportunity to do so. Buy the book.